"Cutter": single mast further aft than in sloop; mainsail behind mast, two sails in front.

"Catboat": single mast near bow; mainsail behind mast, no sail in front.

"Ketch": two masts; main mast (taller) is forward, mizzen mast (smaller) is aft but in front of wheel, mizzensail is large.

"Yawl": two masts; main mast (taller) is forward, mizzen mast (smaller) is aft and aft of wheel, mizzensail is small.

"Schooner": two masts; main mast (taller) is aft, foremast is smaller.

"Fractional rig": headstay does not attach to top of mast,
but below it by 1/8 or so.
Tensioning the backstay bends the mast, tightening the
headstay and giving a better leading edge to the jib.
Maybe also gives more draft in mainsail.
Other kind of rig is "masthead rig": all stays attach to top of mast.

Swaged.
Tube goes over wire, then machine-pressed, by a rigger.
Wire can't be shortened by small amount:
have to cut off fitting and apply new one.Brion Toss's "Nicopress Type Swages"

Swageless (clamped cone).
Norseman, STA-LOK,
Suncor Stainless (best ?),
Electroline, Nirosta, Hayn Hi-Mod.
Tube goes over wire, cone goes inside strands,
head is screwed onto tube.
Can be assembled by hand; somewhat re-usable;
wire can be shortened by small amounts;
can be opened for inspection.
Use anti-seize to prevent galling.

Don't swaddle/bundle up metal joints (such as ends of spreaders);
want air and water circulation. If you do cover them to
avoid chafe/snagging, leave the bottom open.

Cotter pins: bend ends far enough apart so
the pin doesn't fall out (but not into a loop,
so you can pull them in an emergency), and put
dabs of silicone caulk on the ends (so they
don't snag anything).

Manufacturers say: don't use cheap hand-swaging tools to make rigging swages;
use machine-swaging on rigging. I'm not sure if this is said to avoid liability, because of
the variability of hand swages, or because machine-swaging gives a different shape or size or
a longer grip or uses more pressure or gives a "roll swage".

Most rigging failures occur at the end terminals. If you are a new owner, it
would be good to use one of the dye kits (even homemade) to check for cracks
or other defects at the terminals. Random wholesale replacement by calendar
can be a costly waste.

I have done a ton of research on this as part of my boat-buying process. Several very experienced
riggers have told me the same basic thing: They have never seen a rigging failure at a STA-LOK or Norseman fitting.
They have seen many failures of swaged terminals. 99% of failures occur in the wire at the terminal fitting.

Swaged fittings are simply not as strong and they are prone to cracking. Practical Sailor tested various fittings
and gave the actual lbs of pressure it took to generate a failure. The swaged fittings were the weakest of all.

The wire almost never breaks except at the swages. Initially swages may be stronger than Norseman/StaLok,
but all are stronger than the wire so it makes little difference. The problem with swages is internal
corrosion that can cause them to fail without warning. External appearance is not a good indication of
condition of swages. Destructive testing is the only way to be sure of swages but then you've destroyed the fittings.

In the Casey/Hackler book Sensible Cruising, they seem to be not too fond of swage fittings. They say,
"We strongly recommend that if you replace some of the standing rigging, you do not use swage fittings.
They may give excellent service, but are only as good as the operator and the equipment that was used to install them.
Far too often they fail unexpectedly. A better option is one of the mechanical end fittings, either STA-LOKs or Norseman.
These you can install yourself and if you do it properly they are virtually 100% secure."

Several people told me they used swages at the top ends of wires and STA-LOKs at the bottom ends.
That doesn't make much sense to me. I guess you save weight at the top. But I doubt you save
much or any money (cost of STA-LOK fitting versus having a shop do a swage, unless you can do
a really good swage yourself). And now fixing or replacing your standing rigging requires
two "technologies": swaging and STA-LOKing. Why not do both ends the same way ?

Question I asked:

> My boat has STA-LOKs with Imperial-sized wires
> (3/16", 1/4", etc). I need to replace wires,
> but here in Grenada they have only metric wire
> (6 MM, 7 MM, etc). Is there any problem with keeping
> the STA-LOKs and (slightly) changing the wire sizes ?

From Jeff at RiggingOnly.com:
"STA-LOK uses the same body for metric as well as imperial sized wires.
7 mm and 9/32" use the same body and wedge. 6 mm and 1/4" use the same body but have different wedges."

From STA-LOK:
3/16" and 1/4" have no interchangeable metric wedges; must use imperial wedges for those sizes.

Another question I asked:

> Put anti-seize on the threads when assembling STA-LOK fittings ?

From Paul Harrison at Sta-Lok Terminals Inc:

All of our fittings for 5/16" wire and above leave our factory having been assembled with some TefGel
anti-seize compound in them, the reason we do this is that the threads do get loaded up
when the fitting is being terminated on the wire. Stainless Steel is quite a soft metal
so this helps lubricate the threads to stop them seizing or galling.
Now some people use Loctite (not the high-strength ones) as, one, it lubricates the threads
when terminating them on the wire and, two, it locks the threads.
The only problem with this is, if too much is used then it can be very difficult to
get the fittings apart and they may need heating to do this.

Consensus seems to be: fill STA-LOK fitting with sealant (polysulfide) when assembling, to keep saltwater out.
Mine were filled at both ends of the wire, top and bottom, so I did that again when replacing the wire.
The one old bottom fitting I found that did not have caulk in it was full of rust.

Checked the turnbuckle to see if the new wire should be longer, shorter or same length as old wire.

Took the wire down.

Unscrewed the bodies/terminals of the fittings from each end.
Former stays embedded inside fitting body/terminal

Laid old and new wires next to each other on dock, made any
adjustment desired, and marked cut-point on new wire.
Used tape-measure and recorded lengths of old and new wires.

Used Dremel with cutting-wheel to cut new wire. Made cut as straight and clean as possible.
Cut other end of the wire-length too, if needed to make it clean and straight.

Used Dremel to cut fittings off old wire, cutting as close as possible to STA-LOK nut/collet.

Screwed body/terminal back together with nut/collet, backed it out 1/8" or so, and put onto vise with body/terminal downward.
Then used a punch/bluntnail and a sledgehammer to tap the wire-and-wedge down out of the nut/collet.
Each time the wire-and-wedge moved down, unscrewed the fitting a little more to make room to go further.

Cleaned old caulk out of fitting's body/terminal and nut/collet.

Extracted the segment of wire out of the wire-and-wedge, so I could re-use the wedge.
Tricky; lots of of tapping and fiddling and prying. Often damaged the wedge a little.

Put end of new wire length in vise, with bare end standing up. Filed end
of wire to make it clean and even and no sharp edges.

Slid nut/collet down onto wire.

Inserted wedge onto end of wire, wide end upward, core strands inside wedge and projecting out 1/8" past end of wedge.
(The instruction sheet shows you having to unlay 2" to 3" of the end of the wire to get the wedge on,
but for 1/4" wire I found only the slightest opening of the tip of the wire strands was necessary; for 3/16" wire
I did have to unlay about 2".)
A clean cut and clean wire-end makes this easier. I found it easy on 1/4" wire and hard on 3/16" wire.

Used pliers to crimp wire strand ends around wedge end, so they pointed inward a bit.

Adjusted wedge as needed, so core strands projected out 1/8" past end of wedge again.

Arranged outer wires around wedge so they were evenly spaced and none was stuck in the
crack in the wedge.

Put blob of caulk on top of wire end. I used 3M101 polysulfide caulk.

I didn't put any anti-seize on the threads.

Put fitting body/terminal on top of wire end, slid fitting body/terminal down and nut/collet up,
and hand-screwed them together. Caulk oozed out. Tightened very hard with big wrenches. I held the wire and nut/collet steady and
rotated the fitting body/terminal to tighten.

Cleaned up excess caulk.

Put the wire up.

You can try to recover the old wedge for re-use, but it's not easy.
I got the wire out of the inside of it the same way I got the wire-and-wedge out of the nut/collet:
used a punch/bluntnail and sledgehammer to tap the wire toward the wide end of the wedge.
But it's hard because the wire is gripped tightly, the wedge is narrow, and the wire bundle is narrow.
I also used a big screwdriver to pry the wedge open. Probably a good idea to buy a couple of new wedges
even if you plan to re-use the old wedges; you might mangle a couple of the old wedges.

Someone told me: you can re-use the old wedge even if it's broken into two pieces.
But if more pieces than that, must use new wedge. I used new wedges on the big, important wires,
and re-used wedges on the smaller wires.

After doing all of my fittings, I came to realize that there were no formers in any
of them ! I had thought the formers were just jammed deep inside and and stuck.
The fittings seem to work fine without formers in them.

Maybe should replace longest or most important or most damaged wires first, in case
you mismeasured and run out of new wire before doing the last wire ?

Some people say you need an extremely precise cut with a hacksaw to make the wire end even;
I found that Dremel and filing worked fine. Some people put Tef-Gel or Loctite on the threads;
I think polysulfide caulk squirting out is good enough to lubricate and seal them.
Some people say don't tighten the fittings too much; I tightened them about as hard as I could
with big wrenches.

9/2012 on Grenada, a cruiser found a rigging shop on the island
supplying and installing the wrong brand of cones into STA-LOK fittings, possibly leading
to disastrous rigging failures later. They're putting in Norseman or some other N-name cones.
Very bad, and you can't tell by looking at the assembled fitting afterward.
[A few days later, the rigging shop came back and disputed that, but the lesson stands:]
So if someone else is doing the work for you, you might want to supervise a little.

Rigging hardware:

Big blocks should be bolted together, not riveted,
so you can service them.

From "A Manual Of Singlehanded Sailing" by Tony Meisel
(on Amazon):
Best to have halyard winches and cleats
mounted on deck at base of mast, not on mast.
This avoids weakening the mast, keeps
your personal CG lower in heavy weather,
allows using the winches for other purposes.

Metal bolt through fiberglass:
To avoid cracking the fiberglass, put metal washers (3x the
bolt diameter) under the head and the nut, put semi-hard
washers under the metal washers, and have the bolt go
through plastic tubing.

Re: Bedding stanchions: I have never found that bedding compounds
work well - they get squeezed too thin during installation,
and eventually leak when the fitting works when loaded.
I have now bedded the stanchions on our Ericson 32 by gasketting
them with 1/8 solid neoprene rubber. I made the holes for the bolts
a little small, and used bolts with a smooth shaft near the head
so that the rubber would seal on the bolt. Once tightened down,
these proved absolutely sealed, and they will not work loose,
and do not depend on bonding to the glass or the fitting.
If I were to do it again, I would see if I could get some
silicone rubber in sheet form rather than neoprene as it
might prove more durable in the long run.

Every time I bed something I use a drill and a countersink from
Woodworkers Supply. I countersink just a little on each bolt hole
so that the silicone (or polysulfide) creates a gasket around the
bolt as you tighten the stanchion. The silicone is forced to make
a gasket and fill the countersunk void. By countersinking through
the layer of gel coat you also prevent crazing and cracking of the gel coat. ...

... most winches I have
worked on use a snap-ring. This ring is mostly concealed in a concentric slot
cut into the central shaft of the winch near the top. If you look into the
top of the winch, around the handle socket, you should be able to see the
tapered or wedge-shaped end of the ring. With a small screwdriver it can be
pried out of the slot and then the rest of the ring will follow quite easily.
After that, the winch drum assembly just lifts off the shaft, although it may
take some effort if the grease is old and congealed.

A few words of caution ... from personal experience.
The plate under the snap ring will be free to go wherever it wants to when
you pull the drum assembly off. It sinks ...
The pawls and springs may not be held captive in the drum and are capable of
subsonic flight - range is about 4 feet ... they sink too.

A good sign that a winch needs maintenance is when
turning it gives muted clicks instead of loud
metal clicks.

Never put less than 3 wraps of line on a self-tailing winch;
you want the drum, not the self-tailer, to take the load.

Vinyl-covered wire is comfortable to lean against,
but yellows and cracks, and hides wire corrosion.

SetSail.com's "Life Line Connections"
says "... replace the life lines with Spectra line.
It is about the same cost as the stainless steel we've used in the past,
a lot lighter, and not subject to corrosion like stainless steel wire."

Uncovered lifelines are the only way to go.
You can see what condition they are in at all times.
Easy to clean ... With uncoated you can use a larger diameter
wire thus greater safety factor. Makes total sense to me.
Use 1x19 rigging wire grade 316.

(Assuming the stanchions permit it) why not use one of the synthetic,
low-stretch fiber ropes instead of wire rope? You can get the same
strength for less price. The diameter will be larger, but is that
bad in a lifeline? Other advantages are (a) easier to splice and
attach, (b) feels better under hand, (c) no corrosion,
in contrast to any stainless, and (d) you can take them to a
laundromat and wash them if they get dirty. I know that wire
has the least stretch, but is the inch or so difference
going to matter in this application?

UV damage [on rope] is harder to see than wire corrosion; also
you have a larger safety margin with wire, and wire won't
easily get abraded through by a sheet/pole/dock/etc while
rope is vulnerable to that.

I just replaced my rusted-out vinyl-covered lifelines with Amsteel, a
low-stretch 12-braid line from Samson (it used to be called Spectron 12).
It's rated the same breaking strength as steel and is a lot lighter. It
does have to be replaced more frequently, though, as it's more susceptible
to UV degradation than steel -- the manufacturer recommends replacing every
three years, I think, so I don't know that there are appreciable cost
savings in the long run.

Amsteel is low-stretch, but I did realize after putting on the first piece
or two that you do have to pre-stretch it pretty hard, or you're apt to use
up all the threads on the tension adjuster/turnbuckle. I prestretched
simply by making one end fast at the bow, running a length aft to a primary
winch, cranking away, and leaving it for a while. Once stretched, exactly
where to make that second eye splice became much less of an issue.

I really like the way Amsteel looks -- it's gray in color and is thus not a
strong visual element. I found it quite easy to work with -- doing the
eyesplices and lockstitching was very easy. The only performance issue I've
noticed is that while it is also very chafe-resistant stuff, my jib sheets
were imposing a noticeable amount of wear on the upper line in a couple of
places after only a few days of sailing. So I got a length of clear plastic
tubing, split it, and put it on the upper lifelines where the jib sheets
rub at different points of sail. I need to think of something better,
though, because the tubing tends to get kind of wrinkled and will yellow
and look very ugly in not too much time. At about 20 cents a meter at one
of the local ferreterias, it's not exactly a huge expense -- it's just not
an elegant solution. Next time of course, I could slip the tubing over the
line before making the second eye splice. That would alleviate the
wrinkling, but not the inelegance. Would love to hear others' ideas on an
elegant retrofit.

You'll want to think through your lifeline hardware to be sure you can
attach the ends and adjust the tension, and have a look at your stanchions,
to be sure the line you choose will pass through OK. I was able to use most
of my existing fittings plus a few bits and pieces I scrounged at one of
the used marine stores in Seattle, and some pieces I had fabricated that
basically look like elongated D shapes with threaded studs attached.
Johnson has the same part in its catalog, which is available on line. I
just made eye splices in each end and attached the eye splices to the
hardware with simple cow hitches. I also added small bits of leather to
protect the end opposite the D ring end from chafing unduly against the
little hardware bit (can't think of what its proper name is) that attaches
to the tab on the stanchion with a clevis pin and circlip.

Layline.com sells industrial tubing that goes over the life line - the tubing
is colored white and also adds diameter to the line so it doesn't cut into you
when leaning on it. It sure is cheaper than replacing discolored life lines.

If you're considering a lazy jack system which requires
having to drill hardware into your mast and boom, consider
sending your sail to the makers of the
Dutchman Sail Flaking System.
It works better than lazy jacks, eliminates the need for reef
points when reefing, and the whole system is part of the sail,
not the mast and boom. You don't have to make any modifications
of equipment except replace your topping lift. I was skeptical
until I tried it and will never own a boat without one.

Having used (and liked) the Dutchman system on 2 boats, here are
my thoughts on how to rig it.

1. NEVER USE MONOFILAMENT line, as it
will cause excessive wear on the sail and everything else it comes
in contact with. Instead, use very thin braided Dacron.

2. These lines must be attached to the topping lift in such a
way as to hang vertically - diagonally - down, where they are
attached to the tabs at the foot of the sail (right above the
boom, not on the boom). They should be roved thru the eyelets
your sailmaker built into the sail.

3. Tension: They should not cause the sail to become distorted
or constrained on any point of sail, therefore a small amount
of slack is necessary when attaching to the tabs.

...

Assuming the topping lift is a braided line, attach the light
Dacron using a marlin spike. Spread the topping lift with the
marlin spike and insert the light dacron thru the hole, about
an inch and a half. Lay this little tail against the topping
lift and whip it there with strong whipping thread. Tape the result.

The zippered pockets are where you store the excess line.
Insert the lower end of the dacron lines thru the top of the
little hole in the tab found in each pocket. Leave it loose
for the moment. Raise your mainsail. When it is up, adjust
the length of each dacron line and knot it (a simple slip knot
will do) so that the knot stops the excess line from pulling
up thru the tab. Fold the excess line into the pocket and zip
it up. You'll probably want to make minor adjustments in the
length of the lines as you see how the sail sets on each
point of sail. The slip knots make this easy.

I have friends who I have observed having trouble getting their Dutchman
fitted main down in a blow. To be fair, two things: the Dutchman must be
installed perfectly and the vessel must stay into the wind for raising
or lowering the main. Now I know that's what everybody tries to do, but
sometimes the wind does not cooperate. Finally, I installed lazy-jacks
on my Crealock 37 with a fully-battened main and Battcars. IMHO, this
was a more forgiving system. At some point you have to deal with
tidying-up the main or closing a zipper and that means getting out of
the cockpit.

A question: what type of wires are being offered by Dutchman or the
rigger for your boat? People who used vinyl covered wires had more
problems getting the main down. Having said all the foregoing, the
Dutchman with zipper pack is hard to beat when you are back in your slip
or on your mooring lying to the wind.

Attach the upper end of the lazy jacks to the lower spreaders,
instead of the mast, to reduce fouling on battens.

Lazy-jack installation, from Al Hatch on Cruising World message board:

... On the Mast. Attach them to a small padeye or eye strap
anywhere from spreader height to midway between
the spreaders and the masthead.

Advantages/disadvantages of height - the higher you go the
higher you have to hoist the sail before the top couple of
battens clear the lines. Until these battens clear there is
always the chance they will catch under the down lines.

The higher you go the sooner the jacks catch the sail
as it's descending and less of the sail will tend to flop over the jacks.

On the boom you want to attach the first line about 1/4-1/3 the boom
length aft of the gooseneck then space the next two evenly over
the boom with the last jack line no more than 3/4 the length
of the boom from the gooseneck.

I usually look to see where the bulk of the sail is and
space the jacks on the boom as needed.

At this point go look at some boats with Lazy Jacks on
them to see how they are rigged. ...

Lazy jacks are really easy to make. Make the top attachment about 1/8 of the length
of your mast above the mid-point of the mast. All there is to it after that is
splicing in a few blocks. I made mine last winter in about 2 hours for a cost of $45.

If in doubt about the locations of the attachments just look at a boat with installed Lazy Jacks.

I would recommend that any [lazy-jack] system you install, homemade or commerical,
be able to be drawn back to the mast so that you can raise the main without
entanglement. My three-point Harken system did not have this ability and in 25+ it was
extremely difficult to raise. The idea of timing the raise just as the battens
center in the jacks does not work at 100,000 cycles/sec. I modified mine
so that it could be retracted to the top most batten using a single pull line.

We have slugs made with some high density plastic.
Compared to the old wire
hoop and Delrin slug design, these slugs work like a charm. I can
raise the main almost completely without grinding on the halyard
winch, something that was out of the question with the old main.
Additionally, we had problems with the slugs; the plastic collar
covering the wire wore through, leaving the wire to grind against the
boom or mast.

As part of your daily "check the boat" routine,
use binoculars to scan the upper rigging for problems.
(But that is no substitute for climbing the mast;
binoculars will detect only big, obvious damage,
and can't see some places.)

From "The Voyager's Handbook" by Beth Leonard
(on Amazon):
Having most/all sail controls near the cockpit/helm is not necessary:
"long-distance sailors don't drive. They use self-steering almost all
of the time, including to control the boat while all hands carry out sail changes."

From "The Voyager's Handbook" by Beth Leonard
(on Amazon):
Sail covers stop protecting
from UV before they look worn out; replace them every 2-3 years.
But Sunbrella FAQ
says UV protection "is inherent to the product and will not be reduced by usage
and/or fabric exposure to the sun".

Buying a used roller-furling jib sail and converting it to use hanks:
from several people on Cruising World message board:
don't do it; roller-furling sails aren't cut well to start with,
and the UV protection is hard to remove.

Heavy-duty fenders: small car tires, drilled with
drain holes and covered with canvas.

Emergency replacement for cringle/grommet: take two large washers,
drill six holes in each washer,
put small bolts through holes to fasten onto sail.
Add extra layers of cloth or webbing to make
sturdier mounting. Instead of drilling holes (not easy), sew through center-holes in washers.
Or buy Sailrite's "Jiffy Grommet".

Some thoughts in no particular order: Like you, I have read several
articles about them and like the idea, but for them to be really effective,
they must be very large and used on both sides of the boat.

If you use the orange 'mushroom' shaped ones that the retailers sell, you
will need about 8 on each side of the boat - the more the better.

My local West Marine store has sold 1 set in the last 5 years - to a new
boater who was told by a boat salesman that he would need them when he takes
his 20 ft fishing boat offshore. They don't seem to be popular with
cruisers, or weekenders.

The 'single piece' types (one on each side of the boat) need to be huge to do
a good job, and you need a place on the boat to store them when you are
underway.

I have never been in an anchorage where I have seen any kind of flopper
stopper in use, but I have seen people use riding sails and flat mizzens
trimmed to turn the boat into the swell.

Flopper stopper, from John Dunsmoor:

Yes to flopper stoppers, they work great. But less so on your boat [Gulfstar 44],
too beamy, too much initial stability.

We used to tie our inflatable to the end of the boom swung out,
did the same thing. I have also used a 5 gallon bucket on each side,
one on the end of the boom and the other on the end of the whisker
pole, did the same thing. Saw a bucket made with a flap in the
bottom with a weight, and it worked very well.
Just something to break the roll.

... the rigger suggested to sand it and treat it with Tectyl 151A which
is an anticorrosive product made by Valvoline. Apparently it is widely used
here in Australia for this purpose, and according to the rigger and also
confirmed by Valvoline itself requires little further maintenance. It is a
transparent liquid, and bonds to the aluminium. It looks reasonably good
and also is very easy to apply.

Good book: "The Complete Rigger's Apprentice" by Brion Toss
(on Amazon).
Covers knots, splices, tools, rigs, common rig problems, tips and tricks.
A little vague on directions and drawings for some of the splices.
Very little about sails.

From "Mainsheet Makeovers" article by Brion Toss in 9/2003 issue of Sail magazine:

It really is not difficult to do a re-rigging yourself. Explore buying full spools of
wire, even if the quantity is excessive. Frequently the full-spool price is
enough lower than the cut length price that you can save. Hayne, STA-LOK and
Norseman are all easily assembled. If you cut one wire too short, add a
toggle or two. Change one wire at a time, and matching length becomes easy.
Remember, as wires take an initial set and as they wear, they actually
become slightly longer; either make sure you have enough takeup room in your
turnbuckles or cut about 1/4" shorter than the old wire.

"Wire luff": removable swivel drum at the deck that attaches behind the forestay,
a headsail with a wire luff (no hanks or luff tape), and a head
swivel that attaches to the top of the sail and to the halyard.
Low-cost, but can't reef, and headstay sags.

"Internal halyard": goes over the existing
forestay, but does not use the jib halyard, no head swivel. It has an internal
halyard that slides down one groove of the system, while the luff of
the sail slides up the second groove. Low cost, no halyard wraps, but hard to change sail.

"Head swivel": a lower drum, metal extrusions, and a ball bearing head swivel attached to jib halyard.
Most expensive, best performance.

From Gary Elder:

> How do you like the roller-furling, especially
> on the main ? I know the convenience is terrific,
> but the main furling in particular seems like a big
> critical mechanism that can jam in a number of ways.

We added a jib furler to the 34 we had in CA; it was like adding a crew
member. Furlers were already on the jib and main of our present boat when
we purchased it, and I am very happy with them both. The main furler is
actually smaller than the jib furler, but the mainsail is smaller than the
jib, so that makes sense. Some main furlers are prone to jamming if the
boom is not at the correct angle relative to mast, but usually it's just a
matter of learning how to operate whichever model one has. Most older
furling mains have no battens, but do have a hollow leach instead of a
convex roach, which reduces their drive, but everything is a compromise. It
seems that the more birthdays we have, the more these labor saving devices
appeal to us. If you have ever tried to wrestle with a flailing jib in
deteriorating conditions while being thrown about the deck of a 40 footer,
you will appreciate roller furling everything. I even have a couple of
small winches in the cockpit to help with the furlers ... And I use them. Ten
years ago I would not have needed them.

> And it adds weight and windage.

Yes it does, and in some cases it adds ugliness. The aftermarket behind
the mast furlers in no way add beauty, but they are among the most trouble
free furlers available ... Even more compromise.

> But I've already found that the toughest part
> of single-handed sailing is
> flaking the sails at the end of the day.
> Being able to just roll them up
> is very nice.

"Very nice" may be an understatement. I know people in their 70's who
probably would not be sailing if it were not for roller furling.

If roller-furling, roll sails in/out at least once a week
to keep the bearings from freezing up.

Any roller-furling difficulty/stiffness should be
investigated; it may be an impending jam.

People disagree about whether it is okay to use a winch on a roller-furling line;
lots of force could damage the furling mechanism or break the line.
A bigger furler drum might help.

Roller-furling foresails:

Hanked or bolt-rope-into-head-foil (instead of roller-furled) foresails are:
Cheaper; simpler; more reliable;
easier to repair; easier to change; lighter; have less windage;
tend to point a little closer to wind.
But: A roller-furled jib is a major convenience.

There are three steps in converting an existing sail:
installing a luff tape (mandatory), a foam or "rope a la North" luff
(may or may not worth doing; the foam seems to compress over time
and lose whatever effectiveness it might have started with,
the rope supposedly does not compress but may not be any more
effective), and a suncover (may or may not be worth doing on a
used sail; it is a hassle, but not an enormous one, to drop and
fold the sail to keep it out of the sun).

...

I've sailed more than 20,000 miles with 4 different sails
on 3 different furlers. 2 were made to furl; 2 were converted.
The made-to-furls were a lot better.

The best rig I've found is about a 110% jib, with the clew placed
so you can move the lead car forward as you furl, and a set of
line adjust lead cars (asking my girl crew to go out on the
low side deck in the middle of the night to move the car
forward won me no brownie points).

Oh, new mantra: backstay tension, backstay tension,
lots of backstay tension ... (It's a lot easier to get a straw
to twirl around a straight piece of wire rather than a curved one.)

And put a ratchet block somewhere in the furling line to put
drag on the furling line so it will wrap neatly and with even
tension onto the drum. I have a little Harken ratchet block
with a cam cleat on it to hold the furling line; I don't use
any other cleat. The furling line is long enough to reach to a
vacant winch, but 90% of the time I just pull by hand on
a 48 foot luff sail.

Good luck. I'm sure you will really like your furler.
I can't imagine going back.

Roller Furlers were originally designed to completely furl the sail. You can
reef some of the systems, but there are several limitations.

First the furler foils must have the ability to resist the torque. Several
systems have light airfoil shaped extrusions which do not have much torsional
strength. The Profurl and our Schaefer systems have more rounded, heavier
wall sections that have much better ability to resist torsional loads.

Second, the sail needs to be designed with additional
reinforcement on the leach and foot at the ideal "reef point" as the sail is
rolled up.

Third, you will need to be able to relocate the jib sheet lead forward as you
reef the sail. If you leave the lead in the same location you will end up
far more on the foot of the sail than the leach. This lead change can be
done with "towable" cars or with a second car and sheet system.

... A big problem with roller reefing is what to do if you've
reefed down and now need to remove the sail to put up a
storm sail. ATN makes a thing called a Gale Sail for this
purpose. You roll up the genoa and the Gale Sail attaches
with a sleeve around the rolled sail. I got one and it
works well except attaching it is not easy and you're in
the worst place you can be when it's rough and windy - all
the way up on the bow. ...

I can see one use for a Gale Sail: if you sail regularly in a place with steady high
winds, say the Caribbean in winter, you might wrap it on when you set off to save wear
on your main furling sail and expect to carry it the whole of your passage.

But in any other kind of coastal or frontal winds, the idea of furling down to some point,
then when it gets really violent dragging a bag to the bow, getting wet, and fumbling
around maybe losing control of a halyard, all the while going slow, seems ludicrous to me.
Especially since in 6 or 8 hours usually the worst will be past and you'll have to take it off.

Paraphrased from talk by Carol Hasse:
If you have a roller-furled headsail, the webbing at the head
and clew should be covered with UV protection
when it is furled; many aren't.

The UV protection cloth should be black (best) or blue (okay) Sunbrella-type,
but not UV-coated white sacrificial Dacron.

Hanked-on sail easier to handle with "SailClip" ($40).
But I don't think you'd want to store the sail with the SailClip on it:
puts hard edges in with sail, leaves aluminum in contact with hanks.
From Dean Grudzinski, maker of SailClip:
"You can get or make a cover for your Sailclip to
cover any sharp edges. It's recommended that you coat the
aluminum slide with wax where it comes
in contact with any hanks. It's recommended that
you don't store your sails loaded on a Sailclip."

Harken MK-IV - Installed last spring and working flawlessly but the line that comes with it sucks!

So in short I'd recommend a Harken, Furlex or Schaefer. I personally feel the Schaefer is
the most robustly built but it's also the most expensive unit of the three.
That being said the Harken MK-IV, I feel, currently offers the most bang for the buck
and I like the "over turnbuckle" design.

I have made 3 offshore trips on boats with different
systems (1) a standard in-mast on a
Beneteau 44 and (2) an add-on system on a Whitby 42.
I saw no difference in the operation and reliability of either, however, both experienced
some jamming of the sail on reefing and the in-mast system reefing line
tended to jump the drum or jam unless the other person knows how
much tension to apply to the opposing line.
I believe that both systems cause some changes to the boats stability
and this is probably especially
true in the (2) system due to the rectangular metal box
that attaches to the aft side of the mast ...
Obviously you lose some advantages offered by a fully battened
main as far as sail characteristics with the trade
off of all handling from the safety of the cockpit.
...

From Steve Dashew, about roller-furling mainsails:

For efficient sailing, I do not like them as there
are always compromises to be made with sail shape.
For passaging, this doesn't make a lot of sense to me as
you don't handle the main that much in the context of the voyage.
And, properly set up, slab reefing is always going to be as fast,
and often faster than in the mast or in the boom systems.
However, for day sailing, especially where you have a boom
that is high off the deck and difficult to deal with,
the various furling systems perhaps make sense - as long as
you are prepared to pay the very high performance,
center of gravity, and cash penalties.

... My Pearson came with in-mast furling by Hood.
If I had my choice I'd prefer regular slugs on a track but
I'm not willing to invest in replacing the system.
The convenience in furling/reefing is offset by the maddening
banshee howling with every quartering wind.
...

Having installed the Profurl in-boom unit I can strongly
recommend against it, not because it doesn't work, but
because the cast components used are not up to any serious
sailing (our first breakage was in <13 knots) and
the warranty/after-sales service from Profurl is worthless.
If you are prepared to have all the cast components
re-manufactured at your expense you can wind up with a good system. ...

... My primary reason for not buying an in-mast furling system is the total inability
to maintain proper sail shape when reefed for long periods of time due to creep down
the rolled sail over time. My second most primary reason is the shortened sail life
from concentrating the loads at the point where a partially reefed sail emerges from the slot.
Potential for failure comes next, then weight aloft, and cost last.

Are there other reasons? One of the biggest problems with in-mast furling is that
you are totally hopeless when the system really fails. On one BB I read the story
of a fellow whose system had locked up after being reefed for days in heavy air.
They had tried everything they could to free it and finally with conditions
deteriorating and taking repetitive knockdowns, they actually cut away the exposed
portion of the sail along the mast. To me two-line reefing is too fast, easy
and reliable to consider in-mast furling in its current state of development. ...

Vertical furling (in-mast or behind-mast) tends to
spoil airflow over leading edge of mainsail, prevents use of battens,
and means that weight of mainsail is always aloft.

We have a Schaeffer system on our 47' Catalina (pacific crossing 2008).
I would recommend this system although I found the support to be limited away from the US.
The leisurefurl system is the one that we most encounter on other yachts and have
heard nothing but praise from owners. When we circumnavigated on our 42' Catalina
we had a Profurl system and I am afraid I have nothing good to say about the unit
or the support from the company. If I was installing one again I would probably go with the leisurefurl.

DONT ... i too really fancy one but i dont have one BUT i
have surveyed about 10/12 Owners of boats that have them. I am sure you
know how much sailors like talking about their boats NOT it would seem if
they have a furling boom - the last boat owner i asked it was only after
about 30 mins and me asking for the fifth time tell me about your roller
boom did his partner eventually get into the topic ...

I did try an older first gen furling boom on a 38 foot Prout cat and it was a total
disaster but that was 15 or so years ago. The boom is only one part of a
roller furling boom solution; the sail seems to be critical and is nothing
like a traditional mainsail in cut and shape it must be made to fit the boom
following the boom makers instructions to the letter; too many sailmakers
seem to have a 'we know what we are doing attitude'. Then you MUST have a
way of holding the boom at a precise angle +/- 1 degree unfortunately this
angle is not the angle that the boom need to be when sailing. Seems to me a
roller boom it is the most expensive sail cover ever with as many if not
actually more problems as it solves.

Go for a full battened main with
a Strong/Tides Marine or the Ronstan car system and a stack pack cradle cover and can i
suggest Doyle Sailmakers too and go for one of the cruising laminates if you
want the best performing sails. IF money is not the issue how can it bee if
you are considering a roller furling boom :-) a Spectra laminate and if the
cost of that makes you go GULP a Pentax one.

IF you really want to go
roller furling boom go for the Lesurefurl one and make sure your sailmaker
has built a few sails FOLLOWING the 50 pages of sailmaker's instructions that
Leisurefurl provide. Still get a laminate sail.

i am told by 'my'
sailmaker here in the UK that Liesurefurl booms are the business and that
99% of the issues are operator error ... sadly i am not convinced as yet. I
do know that IF i bought a boom and sail from him it would work well as he
is that sort of guy who would not see me unhappy with 'his' product' BUT the
boat is in the Caribbean 4000 miles away so he is out of the picture
really. So i suppose if you want to go down the furling route find a
sailmaker that is commited to giving you a totally snag free solution and of
course a superbly cut 'performing' sail IF he says i will give you a superb
solution and you will be totally satisfied with it - see if he will put his
money where his mouth is and take payment once you are completely satisfied
- then you are taking no risks.

I have a friend who has been full-time cruising with his wife for the past five
years, and just completed a circumnavigation. He has a Leisure Furl and
wouldn't have anything else. Another friend, who has just begun cruising
with his wife has a Schaefer Boom furler, and also is happy, though he
thought the learning curve was a bit long.

It's vitally important to remember the boom furler is part of a system.
That system usually includes a rigid vang, because the boom must be at a
precise angle to the mast to properly roll the sail. Often, it includes a
backstay tensioning device, to bend the mast and give the sail the proper
shape. The easiest and most expensive way to satisfy those two needs is
with hydraulics, but that can be difficult to add to an existing boat. The
main is specifically cut for the boom, with more full-length battens than a
normal main, as the battens determine the proper reef points; the batten is
located at the bottom of the roller when you shorten sail. Many also find
an electric or hydraulic winch is helpful for hoisting and lowering the main.

Bottom line is that the boom furler represents less than half the total cost
of the new mainsail system. I believe it's a great improvement. It's been
tested and it works. But if you only do half the job, you will not be happy.

We have a Catalina 470 in the San Francisco Bay and plan to start our circumnavigation in the Summer of 2010.

We ordered our boat brand-new with a Leisure Furl Boom.
We have sailed our boat in up to 45 mph winds. Here is my read on the product:

The Good:
The sail is easily handled by one person.
The sail is easy to reef, even while traveling down wind.
The furling boom allows traditional horizontal battens (six in our sail).
The large boom allows storage for extra battens.
The Leisure Furl Boom has an adjustable Boom Vang.

The Bad:
The boom is heavy and should have a boom brake attached.
There is a specific boom angle needed to furl the boom, but this can easily be
achieved by marking the topping lift and tensioning it as needed.
The boom requires a little expertise, so casual crew probably shouldn't use it.

I have two friends with high-end boats with Leisure Furl that like it.
My opinion differs: It is convenient for inshore, OK for coastal, but I
would never put it on an offshore boat. I know a prominent PNW
sailmaker who will not build sails for in-boom or in-mast furling
systems, saying they don't belong offshore.

I have sailed to Mexico with in-mast furling, and on various in-mast
furling systems in SF Bay. I sailed 10,000 nm from
SF-Mexico-HI-Canada-SF on a high-end 46 foot cutter with a Leisure Furl.
My problems with it are:

- you have to have everything PERFECT for it to work. We had 4
different "experts" adjust, recut sails and coddle it over 7 months, and it
never worked adequately for us.

- you have to be into the wind with the boom inside the lifelines to furl.

- we could not get a flat sail when reefed. With a 3rd reef equivalent
in, we had a really pot-bellied sail, no matter what we tried. We went
through a 3-day gale followed by a 1-day storm with 55 knots and high
seas, and had to reef the day before, knowing that we would be unable to
reef for the duration. Luckily we were running off, so the pot-belly
was OK. If we had to forereach we would have been screwed.

- We had dacron sails, which are bulky and cause shape problems. Mylar
(read: thin) sails help a lot.

- Bad sail cut or wrong boom angle, when furling, makes the sail run aft
or forward on the mandrel and jam at the mast. Start over again.

- If you jam an in-mast furler, you are stuck. I know of one cruiser
who had to go up the mast in advance of a storm to cut the main off the
mast. In-boom furlers are better in that respect in that you can drop
it and tie to the boom.

I have had a Leisure Furl system on a C&C 48 for ten years now. Once it is
set up properly with a hydraulic boom vang set to the right angle, it is totally problem-free.
Can't recommend it any more highly.

... it has been my experience that the ketch is just so much easier to handle than
a big sloop that I'll NEVER have anything but!! Big sails are a drag!! They take a lot of energy
to winch up, and a lot of energy to trim. Don't forget about reefing, too! I find that a long boom
makes reefing and even flaking (when stowing at the end of the day) very difficult. Remember, I'm
a little guy, so reaching all the way to the end of the boom while standing on the cabin top or the
companionway hatch is really a stretch, and frequently that's the only way to do that, as the
damned Bimini is always in the way! My short little boom is almost a pleasure! And the arc that a long
boom swings at the end is HUGE! You'd better have that thing under control before you get out to
the end or you're going overboard when it swings accidentally!

The other thing that you'll hear from us dedicated ketch-drivers is the balance. It's so darn
easy, to us there's just no other way to balance a boat! I frequently find myself driving the
boat with the big genny and the mizzen only! No main! And the boat is actually quite fast that way!

Under heavy airs, a smaller headsail and the mizzen drives the boat really well and she stays
up on her feet.

My biggest fear when I first started sailing this boat was, could I handle the complexity of
having 2 masts?? That is really a myth! That mizzen is almost self-tacking! When I tack I reach
behind me (center cockpit) and harden up the sheet, then prepare the jib sheets and swing the helm
over. The mizzen takes care of itself and all I have to do is tack the headsail! Now, my mizzen
is about the size of a Hobie 16 main! So you can see just how easy it really is!

As for performance to windward, who cares!! I'm not racing, anyway! The reality is that the
boat drives almost to windward as well as any of my friends' sloops and cutters! The only boats
that I really notice the difference is the go-fast guys, like the J-boats. They REALLY point! ...

One sail with multiple reef-points better than multiple sails.

From "Modern Cruising Under Sail" by Don Dodds
(on Amazon)
(also "After 50,000 Miles" by Hal Roth;
on Amazon):
Consider having one set of reef-points in the jib sail: lets you
carry fewer sails and avoid changing sails.

To keep genoa on board when dousing it:
clip spare halyards to the weather toerail,
tack to put genoa against them, then lower the sail.

Paraphrased from talk by Carol Hasse:
A sail's bolt-rope should go completely
around the reinforcing plates, not
stop short of the plate.
(But the Hogins of Hogin Sails disagree;
not load-bearing, and lots of extra work to do this.)

From David Bevan's "The Circumnavigator's Handbook":

It is SOP for new sailors to prepare their boats as if they were
going to sail around the Horn. "Bullet Proof" and other
expressions are used at the sailmaker when ordering sails.

Well, the truth is: Put your money in light-air sails.
They cost less, take up less space in the sail locker and
you will use them a lot. Spinnakers are the best thing
you could imagine on a cruising yacht. Once over the initial
learning curve, they are easy to use and are definitely the
most comfortable sail to be under. Here's why. With traditional
downwind rigs in light air, you have a headsail or two poled out
or are running wing on wing with a preventer on the boom.
In light conditions, the swell literally rolls the wind right
out of the sails, which reverses the force on the sail causing
it to invert with a bang. This process is repeated a second
later when the boat rolls the other way. This causes a lot of
wear and tear on the sails as well as goose-necks, blocks,
lines, brains and other assorted bits.

Now compare this with a spinnaker. Foremost, it has more
sail area than any combination of working sails ever will.
All that sail contains a huge mass of air which creates inertia.
That is, that huge volume doesn't want to be flung from side to
side too much. That along with the additional velocity of the
boat moving at a higher rate of speed means less rolling, which
any serious cruiser will tell you is a very desirable thing.

But wait, there's more. For cruisers it is common to take the
main down completely, since this moves the center of effort far
forward and allows for easier steerage, which means that a lot of
the time even a wind vane can steer the boat. So the only sail
aloft is this great bag of nylon which for the most part is
totally silent. It is hard to beat cruising along at near hull
speed on a flat ocean, the boat hardly rolling and the only sound
is the water rushing past. Once you've done it you will never
leave port without a spinnaker on board.

We have a loose footed main with slugs for the luff. We also
have a single full batten at the top and three tapered battens of more
or less conventional length below that. The sail shape is easier to
control and we've definitely added to the boats overall speed and
performance. The sail can still be reefed as before and in all other
respects is no harder to live with. The one downside is the ability
to tune the sails means that you do need to know what tweaks to apply
(e.g., easing or hardening the outhaul) when. But after a little over
1000 miles of sailing, the main's a win.

I've been using a loose-footed main for three years now, in everything up to
35 kts true and have had absolutely no problems with it. I use a dacron
strop faced with velcro instead of a slug and a 4:1 internal Spectron12
outhaul instead of the original wire.

Everything works perfectly and the ability to control shape of the bottom
third of the sail is much improved.

1. Any money saved in not having slugs and bolt rope on the foot should
be spent in making the clew very much stronger. The loads there are some big.

2. It seemed to be proved a long time ago, in the open classes, that a
loose-footed main was not as fast to windward as one with foot attached to
boom. End plate effect of the shelf is big. You never saw an America's
Cup boat - 12 meter or modern - or a 5.5 Meter or darn near any successful
ocean racer with a loose footed main, and for good reason.

Though I haven't had much more than 600 miles with a loose footed main, it
was all to weather and I can say there was one substantial difference. The
vessel's pointing ability was greatly worsened. This was a mast-furler
type and the foot just couldn't be tightened enough to point any higher
than 40 degrees apparent ... that made for a very long trip.

Thinner fibers degrade faster than thicker fibers.
Sail fabric is woven with two different thicknesses of fibers.
Dernier is measure of thread weight; higher is heavier.

To test sail fiber integrity, lightly scrape surface with dull metal object,
such as head of a key, edge of a spoon, or dull side of knife blade.
If fibers are good, fabric will become shiny and smooth.
If fibers are bad, surface will fuzz up or slough off.

To test exposed stitching integrity, scrape it with a
thumbnail. If the thread scrapes right off, it's bad.

Polyester sail thread degrades; heavy V-138 thread is best.
But may not be possible to use it on light fabric: gives puckered seams,
and big needle-holes
and strong thread may elongate the holes and lead to tearing.

Sail fabric weights are ounces per "sailmakers yard": 27 x 36 inches.

Liquid-plastic seam coating on stitching: protects from chafe,
but doesn't protect from UV.

From article by Zora and David Aikin in issue 1999 #4 of DIY Boat Owner magazine:

Deciding if a sail is worth cleaning or saving:

Determine if there's any resin left in the cloth:
Pick a bad spot, poke a sailmaker's needle in, and listen for a "pop"
as the fibers separate. No "pop" is bad. Keep pushing the needle in.
If you must push hard, that's good.

Fold the fabric and press down on the fold, then try to tear it along the fold.
If you can tear it, the sail is worthless.

Look at the general sail shape; if it's badly stretched or whole panels
need replacement, the sail probably is not worth saving.

When I bought my boat, with its 15 year old blown out sails,
I went crazy trying to make sense out of all the sail trim books I read.
None of this great advice worked no matter how hard I tried.

I bought a new set of sails and all of a sudden it all
worked just like the experts said it was supposed to.

I really could shift gears, WoW!

Now that my main has 3 seasons on it, I noticed it is getting
just a little harder to make it do all those things it used to do.
And the genoa with 2 race seasons on it doesn't point as high as it used to.

The only bad part about buying new sails is it makes you realize
just how bad a bad sail can be. They make very good (but expensive) drop cloths.

From Don E. on Cruising World message board:
"Just put a new main on my Mac 25. The difference is like night and day."

From Ian of Windfall on Cruising World message board:
[Re: replacing 9-10 year old mainsail that looks okay:] "Went through
the same change, and all I can say is do it."

How to specify/choose new sails:
"New Sail Blues" article by Bill Sandifer in July/August 2000 issue of Good Old Boat magazine
Want number or some identifier on mainsail, so others can identify/hail you.

... We avoided the big lofts in China such as Hood or North
because they tend to be expensive and concentrate on racing
performance with mylar and kevlar, whereas we wanted the usual
dacron.

The other lofts in China are
Neil Pryde,
Lee Sails,
Sails East
and UK Sailmakers.
Actually in USA, unless you want to visit a loft and see your sail
being made, then probably it will be cut and stitched in one of the
China lofts - most all their business is North America or Australia.

The genoa we wanted was the biggest possible that could fit on
the boat, but strong enough (6 oz) not to blow out in the first
20-knot gust. I still prefer a hanked on foresail which I can stow
below when I am not on board, and for me is simple and reliable,
but not easy to reef in a hurry. After contacting Neil Pryde and Sails
East and learning how to measure up, quotations came in with
slightly different ideas about overlap. I asked both to visit my boat
and measure by themselves to make sure it would be the biggest
possible sail. They both said my measurement was wrong, NP
coming back with quote for 165% overlap @ US$1,410 and SE for
150% overlap @ $1,250. So some hard bargaining and I ordered
from NP at $1,040, just over 25% discount which I thought was
reasonable.

...
The old main had a
nice shape, but was falling apart, badly worn out round the batten
pockets and the head and clew. So how much? $641 for 6� oz
dacron. I thought that seemed very reasonable and ordered the
sail and cover together for $769. Despite that SE did the
measuring, the sail arrived too long on the foot and with too much
roach so that it hit the backstay. The roach is more pronounced
since the top two battens are full battens. It also had oversized
claws which did not fit the old tracks on the spars. I gave them the
claws from the old sail and they re-cut the sail and fitted them.

I could not be more pleased and the difference sailing is
astonishing. The boat is much more lively and drives into head seas
with a lot more power and less leeway. I thought well worth it, less
than $2,000 for a new wardrobe. ...

My sail purchase / shopping happened last fall, during the America's Cup Challenger Series.
I found that the local Annapolis lofts really did not seem all that interested in my business.
The same loft that a friend of mine told me had fallen all over themselves the previous
year to give him the best price, was the highest in my case, with no inclination at all,
they'd be willing to negotiate. Take it or leave it, was the definite attitude.
This year, things may be a bit different, again ...

The sails I eventually bought (Rolly Tasker via National Sails) were fully half
the price of the highest quote I'd received and 30% less than the closest non-Tasker sails.
I was completely willing to and expected to pay a premium to a local loft for excellent
personal service and attention. When it wasn't forthcoming, I bought the Tasker sails
and am glad I did.

While shopping, I received quotes from three Local/National lofts and two mail
order lofts carrying Tasker's sails. The difference in price between the two mail
order lofts was 12% on the exact same Tasker sails! The difference between the lowest
bid and highest was over $3,000 on a main and 135 roller furling genoa.

It has since come to my attention that Bacon and Associates are also an outlet for
Rolly Tasker Sails. If you consider or eventually choose to buy Tasker's Sails,
I highly recommend getting quotes from at least two Tasker outlets. Bacon and Associates
are known for their excellent service and have an outstanding reputation, as well.

If I were to do it again, I'd probably still take the same attitude.
I am always willing to pay a little extra to get good service. It sometimes makes
all the difference in the world. But, as a friend of mine told me: "Sails are almost
a commodity, now. The cloths are the same, the computers design the cuts, make the cuts
and help line up the sewing. The only major difference in quality is going to be whether
someone skimped on the sewing, or on service. If you don't get the service anyway,
you may as well buy mail order and save the money."

Which is exactly what happened. Ironically, I got the best service from mail order, too.

Many of the production boats have sails available from the factory at a pretty decent price.

Re: our local loft: As far as I'm concerned, they are too busy, make too much money
or need an attitude adjustment. As much as I like to keep $$ local, I won't go back.
On the other hand, JSI (SailNet) in Florida provided all the information I could ask for,
gave guidance, and had great prices ... all with a top-notch, fall-over-themselves
customer service attitude. We got our drifter from them.

Same with Minney's in California.
They deal in new and used sails, with a 100% money back guarantee.

I just purchased a new, full-battened main [for Gulfstar 43 ketch] from UK. This is a strong
sail, 9.3 oz, three reefs, leech line with metal stops at every reef, massive
corner reinforcements, two draft lines, it's primo. ...
I paid $1,600. For the same sail North wanted $2,700,
Sobstad $2,400 and Quantum about $2,000. Cruising Direct was $1,500 but
wouldn't do full battens, triple reef or the extra reinforcements I wanted.

... on buying new sails. I just had mine built and delivered by Supersails in
Ft Lauderdale. We are preparing for long-term cruising, and even though it was a long arduous
expensive experience it was worth it. I did my homework over almost 4 months, and even though cost
is a big consideration, decided to use a quality local loft that specializes in blue water sails.
Along with 6 well-recommended others, I checked out both Lee and Hong Kong Sails. Lee was
considerably more expensive than Hong Kong but both have considerable hidden costs including
shipping, customs and agent fees. You should check these costs out carefully if you are dealing
directly with any overseas loft. With all costs considered, Hong Kong was only 15 percent less than
Supersailmakers. Also neither can ship full-length battens, hardware and advice is a problem, and
neither can use the better cloths. I would highly recommend having the sailmaker visit your boat
and do the measurements if you want a perfect fit the first time. There are also myriad decisions
to be made if you want to optomize the performance. That all comes together during the measurement
process on your boat. Do your homework on sailcloth quality. It's not just the US name
manufacturer that counts, especially if you need to use your sails frequently and expect them to
hold their shape past 3-5 years. You can get the best quality sail cloth for not a big increase in
cost. Pay close attention to what the loft offers in the way of sun and chafe protection. This is
really important for cruising sails. ...

I have owned two sets of LEE sails over the past 24 years ownership on my Fuji 32. I
HIGHLY RECOMMEND them ... great quality, reasonable price, and excellent staff assistance prior to
purchase to ensure you get it all right. The loft has moved from Hong Kong to mainland China but
the quality hasn't suffered.

Helen is the lady to deal with ... she's been in the business for many years.

Used sail brokerages are useful for jibs and spinnakers, but it is hard to buy/sell
mainsails because they have to match so well with hardware locations on the mast and boom.

... I would never buy new sails; it would cost around $8000 for my boat and I
can get almost new sails modified to my needs from a place like Minnies for
about $1500.
There are a number of huge resellers that get new and slightly used sails
and have literally thousands in their inventory.

I took a used club-footed jib sail, pole and deck attachment to Ft. Lauderdale
in 5/2002 and tried to sell them. Only one sail loft in town is buying
used sails any more, and they offered me $50 for a sail with a 12-foot foot
and 40-foot luff (in great condition except for a few repaired punctures) !
Sailorman said we might be able to get $250 from someone for sail, pole and
attachment.

[Racing sail has no foam in luff for better shape when furled.]
Your high-tech sail probably didn't have a UV cover either. The UV cover
causes the edges of the sail (luff and foot) to build up more thickness
leaving the sailcloth in the mid sections to roll up looser. When this
loosely rolled cloth is put under a load (as in reefed) the load pulls
out the cloth and stretches causing the roll to become tighter. The foam
luff is there to provide bulk as the sail rolls up causing the roll to be
firm and distribute the load evenly along the roll. Sails without the foam
luff lose their shape quickly because of uneven distribution of load along
the luff when the sail is reefed. It is easy to see, just unroll a few
sails without the foam luff and check the luff, it always will be baggy and
stretched even on an otherwise new-looking sail.

You need to be careful in using your high-tech sail reefed because it is not
designed to be used reefed. A racing sail has compound curves in the luff
which do not spread the load equally along the luff while reefed and is not
built to take loads while reefed. Laminated cloth also does not like to be
stressed randomly as it breaks down the adhesive / laminations resulting in
an early departure of the sail. The shape / performance of a racing sail will
be quickly lost if you use it reefed. A roller furling jib is cut with much
less shape to roll more evenly and to better distrubute the loads while
reefed. Any sail can be used on a furler as long as it is all in or all
out; things happen to a sail only while it is used reefed / partially furled.

Also, laminated sails don't do so well while being stored on furlers. It's
not the furler that is the problem, but the water/moisture that gets trapped
in the rolls. Most laminated sails have some component of mylar or some
other impervious membrane that keeps the sail from breathing / fully drying
out while furled. The trapped moisture will cause the sail to mildrew and
grow other crud detracting from the appearance of the sail. Woven cloth
(Dacron) breathes readily and is most suitable for a furling sail. A
laminated furling sail is better protected by a zippered cover as it
prevents rain from finding its way into the rolls and getting trapped.

> How can I search your site for sails with
> wire-in-luff roller-furling (old Schaefer
> roller-furling) ?
>
> If a sail has a wire in the luff, does that
> automatically mean the wire can be used for furling ?

If a sail has a Schaefer RF Wire, it will be noted in the description. A
wire luff is something else entirely. We don't see too many Schaefer RF
Wires anymore and I don't think we have one in stock at the present time.
Any sail can be converted for $90 to $140 depending on the sail. You lose
2" to 3" along the luff edge so take that into consideration.

> Does "conversion to RF wire" involve just
> stitching a thick wire into the luff ?
> Is a normal wire luff not thick enough
> to roller furl with ? Or do you have to
> change the curve of the luff to convert
> the sail to RF wire ?

A conversion to RF wire involves stitching a heavy wire into the sail luff
for the express purpose of roller furling. A wire luff is a thin wire
installed in the luff to prevent luff stretch and is not adequate for
furling. A sail with a wire luff will also have hanks or else just fly
free. In all cases the cut of the luff is the same.

My experience:

I bought a new mainsail 3/2009 from Lee Sails. The sail has 35-foot luff and 14-foot foot
and the fabric is 8.6-ounce Dacron. 3/8" wire in the luff for old-style Schaefer
wire-in-luff roller-furling. No battens, no reef-points, no roach, no headboard, no sail-bag.
Sun-protection strip of Sunbrella along the leech.

Cost was $1235, including shipping to USVI, 10% discount for off-season order, 3% extra to Lee Sails
for using a credit card, and another 3% charge by my credit card company for
doing a foreign transaction. (Cost at North Sails in Fajardo PR would have been $1500 plus shipping,
and local USVI sailmaker would have been $1800+.)

First impressions: sail came on time, everything looks great, triple-stitched on many
seams, workmanship looks good. Specified no sail-bag, but it
came in one anyway. I think maybe I should have asked about heavier fabric;
I worried that the 8.6 would be too stiff to roll, but it rolls fine, and I assume heavier
would be more durable. Lee Sails did a great job !

From Ray Millard:

Re: winding a line around a furled sail to keep it from banging against the mast:

One thought on the line to prevent banging against the mast. I found on my
new furling headsail that some nylon lines tied, even tightly, around the furled
sail will cause/show chafe fairly quickly. That is, begin to chafe the sailcloth
or Sunbrella anti UV cover. I have found that using a flat sail tie, i.e. nylon
or Dacron tubing, seems to minimize or avoid the chafe on the sail.
I keep such ties on the furled main in Monterey in the winter due to gusty winds
which have managed to "unfurl" headsails and mains on occasion.

Go to beam or close reach, and look at lee shrouds.
Remove any slack. Tack and do same on other side.
Tack back and check again. Then check mast straightness,
to see if head falls off to weather.
Fix by loosening lowers and/or tightening uppers.

Use gauge each time instead of marking positions on
turnbuckles, because wire stretches over time.

Basing everything on wire's breaking strength bothers me:

What if someone has increased wire diameters on your rig ?
The spars and chainplates and hull probably weren't upgraded.

What if your rigging wire was oversized to begin with ?
My ketch has a 45-foot (from deck) main mast stepped on deck,
with one 3/16" shroud and
three 1/4" shrouds on each side.
I think this is an excess of wire.
[Others say it definitely is not.]

How can you tell if a wire is 302/304 stainless steel
or 316 stainless steel ?
Their breaking strengths differ by 15%.

My boat has an (original) forestay, and
an (added later) roller-furled jib with a wire in the luff.
Should both be tensioned to X% of their breaking strengths ?
Or (my guess) should their total tension add up to X% of
the (original) forestay breaking strength ?

If you have a split (in the middle) backstay, should each
wire that reaches deck have 1/2 of desired tension,
so single upper wire is at correct tension ?

From Gary Elder:

I wouldn't approach tuning from a "breaking strength of wire" angle.

Somewhere there must be a rigging shop or a rigger who has the rig
tuning specs for YOUR boat model. Those specs should include wire
size (diameter) and tension. That is all you need. You don't need to concern
yourself with what type of stainless the wire is made of.

On a previous boat, a 34 footer, I increased all the standing rig wire
size to the next larger size. I tuned it to the original tension specs on
the advice of my local rigging shop. It worked great.

Re: split backstay:
When an inverted 'v' is tensioned equally, the sum of those two tensions
is not necessarily equal to the tension on the single wire at the top of the
'v'. The more obtuse the angle at the 'v', the more tension there is at the
chainplates. Some split backstays have some kind of device at the 'v' that
equalizes the tension on each leg of the 'v'. If possible, I would measure
the tension on the single backstay and let an equalizing device divide the
tension between the two legs.

Again, I believe that it is best to base rig tension on boat
manufacturer specs rather than on wire strength specs. The only wire issue
to be concerned with, assuming that you purchase 'marine rated wire', and
you use the same sizes, is whether to use 302/304 or 316 and that is
strictly a corrosion resistance issue. You aren't going to break either
type.

From John Dunsmoor:

The point is to support the mast. Shrouds turn lateral force
into compression. This is the point. A mast has no strength laterally, zip.
But a mast section has tremendous strength in compression.
Now, conservation of energy, every pound of compression means
an equal and opposite force pulling up on your chainplates,
which is attempting to compress, squeeze the beam of the vessel.
That is the reason that you have this system of bulkheads, mast,
compression post, chainplates and keel. This is a system, where
the whole is more than the sum of the parts.

So the point is to keep the mast up, keep the lateral forces
under control and at the same time do this with the minimum
amount of compression.

So worrying about percentage of strength of wire is superfluous.
You could simply crank down on the turnbuckles to the point of driving
the mast through the bottom of the boat, without even going sailing.

The fact is especially the lower shrouds, will probably go slack
on the lee side of the vessel. Uppers because they have more stretch,
should stay fairly tight. Backstays are a method of putting tension
on the mast; many times a vessel will adjust the backstay in such a
way to put a rearward bend in the mast. When you look around you will
see vessels with adjustable backstays. One reason to bend the mast is
to flatten the mainsail. You can pull the belly out of the main this way.

Backstay tension keeps the mast out of equilibrium, in tension, so
that it will not pump. ...

A good cruising method is go sailing with good wind and little seas,
some place protected. While the vessel has a good deal of pressure
close-hauled, lay on your back looking straight up the mast.
On starboard tack it would be straight. Then switch tacks and
look again. Adjust accordingly.

Headstay, backstay is a balance. Watch your luff, your headstay
under pressure, if there is more than three inches of curve,
measured from the chord then you probably would like a some more
tension on the backstay, forestay combination.

Intermediate forestay, same goes here, make sure you have balance.
Some boats have running backstays. Believe me, if you do not have
balance you can break a mast. Remember, a mast is designed for
compression, not lateral stress.

I have found the best way is to loosen all shrouds and stays, and apply
tension to the masthead(s) - basically, start at the uppers and work your
way down. Look up the sticks to see if they are straight and in column,
and if they are, that's a good start. You don't need a lot of tension on
the stays and shrouds, but enough so that they are not loose and floppy.
You can buy tension meters, but my experience is that they don't really
impart much information, just look for "hand tight when you swing on the
wires".

Then tighten the lowers, again so that the wire feels hand tight when
you pull it, not like a guitar string. Look up the mast(s) again and
check they are still in column.

When you go sailing, with stainless steel rigging, as long as they are
not loose and floppy on the leeward side, you're all set. But they will
definitely feel slacker on the leeward side when heeled over. If the
wires are drum tight over the entire rig on either point of sail, then
you know you have set things up with too much tension.

The bottom line, and ABOVE EVERYTHING ELSE - is the mast straight and in
column while under sail? If so, and as long as you are not driving the
stick through the keel through overtightening, you're all set.

Sounds simple, doesn't it? It is.

Stainless steel wire strengths:

Material

Construction

Diameter

Breaking Strength (lbs)

302/304

1 x 19

1/8"

2,100

302/304

7 x 7

1/8"

1,700

302/304

7 x 19

1/8"

1,760

302/304

1 x 19

3/16"

4,700

302/304

7 x 7

3/16"

3,600

302/304

7 x 19

3/16"

3,700

302/304

1 x 19

1/4"

8,200

302/304

7 x 7

1/4"

6,100

302/304

7 x 19

1/4"

6,400

302/304

1 x 19

5/16"

12,500

302/304

7 x 7

5/16"

9,000

302/304

7 x 19

5/16"

9,000

302/304

1 x 19

3/8"

17,500

302/304

7 x 7

3/8"

12,000

302/304

7 x 19

3/8"

12,000

316

1 x 19

1/8"

1,780

316

1 x 19

3/16"

4,000

316

1 x 19

1/4"

6,900

316

1 x 19

5/16"

10,600

316

1 x 19

3/8"

14,800

Summarized from article by Van Markos in 6/2005 issue of Sail magazine:

If mast bends when rig is tightened:

Balance boat at rest; allow for your weight if it's a small boat.

Set mast rake angle as desired.

Loosen rigging.

Tighten rigging from bottom up, using mast bend to tell
which side is too tight.

Under close-hauled sail, tighten lee shrouds until looseness is just removed,
noting number of turns.

Tack. If mast is straight, tighten lee shroud same number of turns.
If not straight, repeat until straight on both tacks.